Just Another Day On The Job
by Stargazer at Moonlight
Summary: Humanized AU. G1/Ani/Prime. Mainly focused on Prowl's life, his friendship with Lockdown, his future relationship with Jazz, and his work at the precinct. Jazz x Prowl, past Prowl x Lockdown, Lockdown x Devcon, and many others to be introduced later.
1. Chapter 1

Words: 2780

Texting

_Thoughts or Emphasis_

"_Phone Call"_

**Chapter One**

It had to be pathetic that he was already dreading this day off. He had been informed, in no uncertain terms, that he either used his vacation days or he lost them. After a significant amount of thought on the matter the night before that included the pros and cons of allowing the loss of the days, the motorcycle cop decided to wash his car and both bikes in his driveway before running a few errands on his Harley and to keep the days he had accumulated. The weather was bright and sunny, no rain was called for, the vehicles had been gathering dust, and he truly had nothing better to do for most of the day since he was up at five in the morning regardless of if he had work or not. His body would not allow him to deviate much from his accustomed schedule.

Breakfast was a silent affair in his little cottage, but very good. Pancakes with powdered sugar on them and a few sausage links was a great start to the day in his opinion. It wasn't his normal fare, but he had all the time in the world this day with no duties to see to, and with that came his casual wardrobe, of which there was little.

His biker boots were something nobody at the station would have associated him with, but that he had truly adored since he had gotten them the year before from his closest friend as a Christmas present. The same could be said for his tight-across-the-ass jeans and tight black t-shirt. The shirt didn't stay on for long once he was able to start washing his vehicles and was dried by the sun where it hung on the porch railing as the day wore on.

When he next checked his watch, the time lapse became much more apparent, there having been several hours taken up by detailing a Dodge Challenger and two bikes. The station's motorcycle and sports car were soon moved back into his garage. His leather jacket and helmet were thankfully just inside the front door and were donned after his shirt so that he could leave the house.

He did have to stop by the station for a short moment to drop off a few small items that fit into his saddlebags with room to spare and to tell his boss that he needed two days off the weekend before the Fourth of July. His mother demanded his presence at the family reunion – something he truly would much rather avoid for many more than one reason. Many of his family members invited their friends' families and he was rather tired of being pushed at all of the available women at the functions or, for that matter, being fawned over by them. The only saving grace in his opinion was that he was only required to attend one other reunion a year if he went to that one – Christmas.

The drive into the city proved uneventful until he got to the precinct and parked. The noise his Harley made had drawn attention his way and several cops had emerged from the building to catch a glimpse of his bike. He laid his helmet on the seat and grabbed his files before heading their way.

"That's one sweet bike, man," one of the rookie cops said, gazing at his black machine in envy.

"Thank you," he said with a quick nod to the man, brushing past to go inside.

"You do know that's employee parking."

"Yes."

The man followed him inside. "So why are you parked there?"

"Blades, I am any officer and this is my day off."

He scoffed at the older man. "How can you afford that fine machine?"

"Because I built it from several bikes from the junkyards and help from a couple of my friends and military buddies."

"Military? Really?" the rookie snorted. "Right. Like you were military. You aren't old enough."

"Kid, I and my few surviving brothers were discharged from the service because they didn't know if we'd make a full recovery from our wounds. It is a miracle I myself am still able to walk, let alone run and perform as needed for the force."

"Hey Officer Prowl!" the young lady at the front desk greeted cheerfully. "Do you need to get back to see the Chief? He's in right now."

"Hello to you too, Arcee. Has your shift been okay? No one bothering you?" He paused for a moment, "Yes, I do need to speak to the Chief, but it's not overly urgent."

She giggled. "Shift's been fine, just rather boring. Sound's been sending me clips from some of the calls so I know how Roddy is since he doesn't have a partner right now."

Prowl's hand clenched unconsciously as he thought about his own previous partner when he was at a different station. He was the reason he had requested to work alone at this precinct. "How is that relationship working out for you? Springer isn't still threatening him is he?"

"Oh, Roddy treats me wonderfully! And I am _so _thankful my brother finally stopped threatening one of his best friends. Now I just have to work on Daddy so he isn't pulling his shotgun out every time he comes to the house."

"He'll always do that, 'Cee. My Pa still pulls his out on my sisters' husbands even though they've been married for years now."

The strawberry blonde huffed. "Men."

He chuckled quietly. "Watch my baby for me, why don't you?"

"You rode in on Glory?"

"Sure did. Washed her real good this morning."

"Will do then! And gladly. She's a beaut."

"I'll see you on my way out."

She waved him through with a grin. "You gonna be at the coffee shop later?"

"Yes."

"I'll meet ya so we can talk some more. Roddy should be there."

The dark-haired man grinned. "That means I get to add my threats to Springer and Kup's!" he called over his shoulder. Her noise of frustration made him chuckle some more. She was just too much fun to bait.

"Hey man. Isn't this your day off?" a pretty caramel-skinned woman asked as he passed the break room.

Prowl stopped to chat for a second. "It is, yes. I just needed to drop a couple of things off and talk to the Chief."

"Your moma makin' ya go to the Fourth's get-together?"

He sighed heavily. "I just wish she'd give up, Soundwave."

"She's too persistent for her own good, agreed. But go on. Shoo. It's your day off. Enjoy it."

A smile tugged at his lips. "See you later."

"Come by the club sometime. You need to meet my boyfriend."

"I'll see about it."

The rest of his walk was uneventful and he was able to toss his files on his desk quickly. The sooner he got to the Chief's office, the quicker he hoped to be able to leave. It wasn't that he didn't like the man – he did – but he always looked like he never got anything done and was extremely stressed. That could have been from some of the mechs he had to command though. Many of his colleagues could be and were total assholes on a normal basis.

A sharp rap on the door a short time later with an answering, muffled 'come in', and he was standing before the Chief. He waited to be addressed, observing the man that was his "Commanding Officer". What he saw was not what he expected. The grey-haired man was massaging his temples and the back of his neck with his reading glasses lying on the desk between his elbows. It seemed that he needed either some time off or some heavy-duty pain killers and aspirin.

"What is it you need, Prowl?"

"My mother-"

"The weekend before the Fourth. I had that penciled in tentatively. I'll go ahead and put it in pen. Thank you."

"Thank you, sir. Is there anything I can get you?"

"I have it in my top drawer, but thank you for your concern. Dismissed."

Prowl left the room rather disgruntled. "Oh well," he muttered, making his way out of the station and to his bike with an absent wave to Arcee. His next stop was the grocery store. A few ingredients he considered necessities were running low in his kitchen and, if he found anything that caught his eye, he might get something extra. After all, Lockdown was supposed to be visiting sometime that week and his taste was just a little different from Prowl's in many things. Where the cop had a slight sweet tooth, his friend loved anything and everything sweet. Prowl enjoyed more spice than Lockdown, and when they cooked for each other, they normally ended up seasoning each other's food differently so that they both enjoyed what they were eating – though they also stole food off of the other's plate part of the meal.

There was no way to plan around his visits as he never gave a set time and, even when he did, he rarely kept to it being a day or two off one way or another. The tattooed man had a key to his cottage so that he could come and go as he pleased and not be stuck outside or look like he was breaking into the house. Otherwise he would have had a number of problems as he engendered enough fear just by driving into the neighborhood that some of the housewives apparently kept a phone nearby so that they could call the police quickly if they felt like they needed to. They had actually come over on his off time and asked him about the man and told him that they had done so after the first time he had appeared out of nowhere. They weren't quite as wary of him since then, but he just had that effect on people in general – even when they knew him.

Lockdown had laughed hard when he found out about that, but made it a point since then to give the cop a heads up for the week he'd be by so he could warn the women. If there was one place he hated, it was a police station when he didn't walk into it of his own free will. Visiting Prowl while he worked at his desk was an entirely different matter. He had done that often at the last precinct he had worked at, but had yet to put in appearance there – the cop secretly suspected the building was being inspected first, and very thoroughly, along with all of the personnel.

As he walked up and down the aisles, unfamiliar with the store, he kept twitching imperceptively. It seemed like a number of single – and not so single – women had chosen to come to the same store at the same time and he was getting uncomfortable with the looks he kept getting. Thankfully he found the items fast before heading back to the snack aisles. They always ate a lot of junk food when his friend was over and this time would be no exception. Several of their favorites – chocolate bars, kettle cooked chips, Sprees, Sweetarts, Biscoff cookies, and the like – were added to his basket before he left the area and headed towards the checkout counter, soon leaving the store with his purchases. A stop at the liquor store was called for where he picked up a bottle of whiskey, bourbon, and their favorite wine. They always had something that went well with the wine and the others were just good.

His phone buzzed in his pocket insistently. The ID showed a picture of a young strawberry blonde. Hey! My break's in ten minutes. Mind pickin me up?

His reply was short and to the point. Be there in five.

He hung around outside the precinct for about ten minutes waiting for Arcee to leave the building. When she did, he was glad to note that she had brought the helmet he had gifted her with the birthday after she became interested in motorcycles. She bounced down the steps and hurried over to him, grinning widely.

"Glory's looking real good, Prowl."

A slight smile graced his face at the compliment to his bike. "You ready to go?"

"Of course! Roddy's waiting on us!"

"As my lady commands," he teased, settling onto the Harley with her and driving a short ways down the streets to the favorite little coffee shop of their precinct's cops. There was no place better and it was easy to see with the number of cars parked out front and the size of the shop. They had to expand the establishment a few years before to accommodate the constant flux of officers and other customers. He was glad there was designated motorcycle parking as the rest of the parking lot was a mad house and his Glory may not have been quite safe.

"Let's get inside!" She was extremely excited to introduce them as Prowl tended to know whether her relationships would last or not. It was an interesting phenomenon as he rarely listened to gossip and never passed it along so he knew nothing about the men she had previously dated before meeting them the first time. It made one wonder about his past. He shared very little and what he had said to the new rookie earlier in the day was about the extent of what could be pulled from him or Soundwave about it.

Thankfully Hot Rod had commandeered a booth where they could sit and talk comfortably as rush hour was not quite finished and being closer to the counter would not have been enjoyable in the least with the crush of people there. She cuddled up to him happily after bouncing over. The off-duty officer was left to make his way over to them and arrived just before the harried waiter did. He hurried away after getting their orders.

"I'll never understand how you, as a guy, can drink something so frou-frou," the beat cop muttered.

"A cappuccino is nowhere near as bad as drinking a daiquiri as a guy. Those are horrible and do not carry even a hint of masculinity."

Arcee laughed. "You just got told, Roddy." The teasing made him pout, but he grinned as he poked his girlfriend in the side making her squeak.

They quieted as their orders were placed in front of them. Prowl grabbed his cappuccino as soon as it was set down and took a sip, smiling in internal bliss that had his two companions laughing and the waiter staring in consternation. It wasn't often anybody reacted like that.

"What? This is the first bit of coffee I've had today. I was out of it at my house. A cop should never start a day without coffee."

"There was some at the station."

He snorted, an eyebrow raised. "That stuff I wouldn't wish on any but my worst enemy. As it is, they aren't available at the moment."

"Unless Soundwave brings in her own mix."

Prowl grinned. "Who do you think she got it from? My Ma makes some of the best coffee ever and I have that 'recipe' myself."

"Oh man, you've so got to get it to me! I so want it. But anyway. Roddy, this is Prowl. He's a motorcycle officer and sometimes works with the detectives on cases. He knows my family and is a good friend."

The red-haired officer extended a hand to him over the table that was clasped in a quick handshake. "Pleasure to meet you."

"And you. Just remember, you break her heart, you'll have another person hunting you down and I have connections. Don't think I'll be scared to use them." His tone left the other officer slight on the shocked side as the information delivered left a shock of cold running through his body since it was never lightly shared. Anybody who said that was serious if it was delivered like it had been and was someone to never cross. His threats made even Springer's look like child's play in comparison – and that was saying something as Prowl was much smaller than his friend and seemed much more passive.

Arcee released a long suffering sigh. "Now that your threats are done with, can we move on?"

"Of course, 'Cee. I just have to torment you. Be glad you aren't one of my sisters."

"Oh, I am. From the stories Soundwave tells me about how you tormented them, I am very glad."

"Yeah. Sound's got some good stories of those times. Of course, she also joined in on the fun."

_**Author's Notes**_: This does not have their real names as they're mostly referred to in relation to the nicknames they got at the precinct. Those will come in in the next few chapters of this. I'd love to know what everybody thinks of this and if I should continue posting it. Thanks for taking the time to read this.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Words: 2755

* * *

The alarm blared through the small apartment, causing a hand to materialize seemingly from thin air and smack down on the 'SNOOZE' button. He didn't want to get out of his warm and comfortable bed just yet. This happened a few more times before he gathered the energy to get up and dressed for the day. Why did he have to choose a job that had him working odd hours? Sometimes it was enough to make him want to tear his hair out. For the most part he was just happy to wear something rather comfortable instead of a uniform, though he had to admit that some of the cops on patrol looked damned good in one. Thankfully he hadn't yet been caught looking – too bad he didn't know it was just a matter of time until he was.

He grabbed a pack of frozen waffles and popped two of them in the toaster. While he waited, he also grabbed the milk jug from the fridge and poured himself a glass that was quickly chugged down before he cleaned up his mess and grabbed the newly heated waffles to eat on the short drive into work.

His Solstice started easily and he met with nothing unusually, though he took the time to wipe the greasy fingerprints he left on the steering wheel off before going inside. The day didn't promise to be overly entertaining even though they were scheduled to be s taking out an area known for drug activity. All that ever came out of that was a boring shift until he was relieved. Faces just blurred together since they were the same general type of person for the most part. He'd grown up in a similar place, but had stayed as far from it as he could.

As he got to his desk, his superior called, "Jazz! Need ta speak to ya."

"Yeah. What's crackin, boss?" He followed the slightly bigger man into his office.

"We've got to take ya off this case for now. The higher-ups want one of their motorcycles to have a partner. Apparently, he was great with his last one up until his partner was killed during a traffic stop."

"Why dey come ta Narcotics to find him a par'na?"

"None of the other beat cops like him that much. I'm sure you've heard of him. Prowl?"

"Sure. Ya hear som'thin bout him all da time when da beat cops hang."

His boss slid a file over to him. "That's what the precinct's got on him. You're to get to his office as soon as you can."

Jazz scooped the thin folder up and was out the office door quickly. The office number of this Prowl was sticky-noted to the file and he chose to head there while he read. There was little there, just his service record, a few highlights in his cop career, and a few notes sent by his former chief. None of the information warranted what was said about him, but it seemed like a lot was missing. What had prompted his move out here? Why were there a couple of blank years in this information?

He opened the office door and stepped in without knocking, but when he looked up he wished he had. Two men – one in uniform, one in civilian clothes – were looking at him, on the verge of glaring really, from where the cop was perched on his desk and the civilian sat in the chair between his knees.

"Who the fuck's this?"

The cop looked at the other man with a raised brow. "Does it look like I've got a clue?"

The strange man looked at the man he assumed to be Officer Kalen and scoffed, "It _is_ your office."

"And you already know that pretty much nobody comes here." Well, that was interesting information.

The larger man chuckled lightly. "True. Ya expected that, didn't ya?"

"Of course. You never came to my last precinct before you checked it out. It was only logical to assume you'd do the same here." He tapped the other man lightly on the chest to emphasize his point with a light grin.

This time he outright laughed. "I'll see ya after shift. Drivin' Glory or that badass car ya got today?"

"It was raining earlier, so I drove 'that badass car' today."

He stood, bracing his hands on either side of Prowl, before leaning in to kiss him softly. That seemed to be extremely at odds with his appearance. "I'll make dinner if ya still got the grill."

"Grill's on the back patio, but you'll need to get the meat. I wasn't sure when you'd get here and I didn't know what you wanted to make."

"Have a good shift, Prowl."

"See ya, LD."

Jazz stood rooted to the spot, staring at the man who was going to be his partner. There was nothing like that in his files or in the station gossip. And who was this 'LD' character? He watched as the man that was to be his partner scrubbed a hand across his face and through his hair before facing him.

"So was that yor boyfrien'?" His question caught he motorcycle cop by surprise seeing as he gaped at him for a short moment.

"He used to be, yes."

"By he's not anymo'?"

"He hasn't been for years."

"Ya still lovas though, righ'?"

"Occasionally, but LD has a boyfriend now that lives in town, so we won't be any longer, unless Dev is into that type of thing. I haven't quite met him yet."

"Yet he still kisses ya?"

Prowl shrugged. "It's LD."

And, apparently, that explained it all. How, he had no idea. He had a feeling it dealt with the two years that were blank in his file. Which reminded him, he really wanted to know what caused that seeing as it wasn't something that appeared in many cop files and he was rather nosy.

"What did you need?"

"My boss sent me ova. Said somet'in' bout bein' ya pa'tna."

The slighter man frowned, rather unhappily to Jazz's thought. His file had said he had worked great with a partner, so why was he so upset to have a new one? Was it the street clothes he was wearing right then or that he had barged in without knocking? He had no way of knowing that the man's reaction was for a totally different reason.

Prowl sighed before extending a hand to him. "Kalen."

"Jamal," he said, grasping the lighter-colored man's hand. He wasn't' that dark himself, but it was surprising when so many in the precinct didn't even have so much as a tan that his new partner wasn't the same. In fact, a good number of their other coworkers were close to pasty white in his view. He tossed the file down on the vacant desk in the office before leaning against it with crossed arms. "So what are we doing today?"

Prowl moved to sit in his chair from where he was still perched on the desk. "Since I don't normally have a patrol car and I have to turn the bike in before I can get one, we are stuck in the office today. I was planning on working on one of the cases the detectives handed me earlier."

"And fo' meh?"

His answer was the quirk of an eyebrow in a 'you-think-I-know' manner and the flipping open of a huge file that he hadn't noticed on the desk. Surprising since it was inches thick and the desk was painfully neat.

"Well. Can Ah help ya any?"

"Can you read Sentinel's handwriting?"

"Barely."

"Then probably not."

"Then when's ya shift end?"

"I am going home for lunch in two hours and after that am coming back to the station to work for two more."

"Ya've got some weird hours."

"I work from five to three, usually most of that is spent patrolling. As there are now two of us and a car instead of a bike, the route I use is not going to be possible, so that will require modification or the assignment of a new area. That is what I will be doing this afternoon." Jamal found himself surprised at how concisely the man could state things and also make him feel like he was not wanted and one of the dumbest beings in existence. His new partner continued, "One of us will have to modify their hours for the duration of this partnership." Left unsaid, but heard by Jazz was that it was unlikely to last very long. He found himself hoping it would since the beat cop has shown and interesting juxtaposition in emotions, almost like he reserved them for a select number of people or when he wasn't working. He was already downright intrigued and they'd only talked for a short amount of time. This man could easily become an obsession for him, but he had a feeling that informing Kalen of that would not bring about any positive results and most likely end in him getting whiplash from how fast a request for a different partner or for reassignment would go through.

* * *

The roar of the engine soothed him as he climbed into his Challenger and drove home to what he knew would be a wonderful meal. Lockdown had always been an amazing cook – and especially when grilling – so he was looking forward to it. Thankfully the drive was absolutely uneventful and he hit all of the lights just as they were turning green, but his calm was shattered by a call that came through right as he pulled in the drive.

"Hello?" Kalen answered without looking at the caller ID.

" Ya still answer tha phone like that? What did I tell ya about that? Need ta know when are ya gonna be gettin' home. I'm almost finished grillin' everythin'."

"I'm stepping out the car now, Vic. You shoulda heard me pull up."

"Wasn't sure if that was you. Kid came by in a yellow Lotus. Wanted ta know if ya were here and who I was and what I was doin' here. Asked for me ta tell ya that he needed ta talk to ya. Anyway. Get yor sexy ass in here. I just finished everything and somebody has to eat this with me."

The beat cop grinned down at his phone as he heard a click. Lockdown always hung up and never said goodbye. The latter was easily understandable – he had actually asked why he never said the word – and the former was just a Lockdown quirk and something he had come to love about the man when they had been dating since he never just hung up if they were fighting, but stayed on the line and gave as good, if not better, than he got.

"Well? Are ya gonna get yor ass in here and eat or are ya gonna stand there lookin' jumpable all day? Ya know that the weather man's callin' for rain this evenin', right?" Lockdown paused for a moment. "On the other hand, stay right there and I'll grab my camera and we'll send the pics in to some male model magazine."

"Somehow I doubt they'd actually get sent in, Vic. I know how ya are," Kalen drawled as he made his way up to the porch and his house guest.

"Yeah. Why would I wanna share ya with any of tha rest of tha world? Ya were mine first."

"And you have another man now. I'm pretty sure that I'm not on the menu any more for you."

"Naw. Not unless I can get Dev ta agree to havin' ya join us."

"Well, you grilled us a dinner. We gonna eat any time soon, Victor?"

The paler man clapped a hand on Kalen's shoulder and led him back through the front door and out to the back patio where the table had been set up for a nice dinner and another man was already seated.

"Sorry I didn't tell ya, Mav, but this is Aiden, the man that I've been with for the past few months. Aiden, this is Kalen. He was in my squad and we went to the same high school. We dated for a few years a while ago."

Aiden shook his head at Lockdown's introduction, but smiled at Prowl and stood to extend a hand that was grasped firmly for a short time before it was let go. "Mav?"

The beat cop grinned rather shyly. "My middle name is Maverick and Vic her found out a number of years ago and began calling me that."

Reseating himself, Aiden grinned back at him. "You can call me Devcon or Dev if you'd like. It'll be so nice to get the facts on LD here from a friend of his." He paused for a moment to let Victor wander a little ways away before stage whispering, "And maybe learn what he likes in the bed and how to tempt him there. He's yet to give in to me and spend the night."

"I heard that!"

"You were meant to!"

Prowl laughed lightly, some of the stress from the day slipping from him at the interaction between his friend and his boyfriend. This was just the type of thing he needed after that bombshell that had been dropped on him. He'd had a great reason for requesting to not be partnered in this job and it was still valid, though not quite as troubling since he had made it the past few years with nothing happening. Ratchet, his physician and surgeon, was positive in the assessment of his progress and also in that it was highly doubtful anything would go wrong again, but Prowl was unwilling to chance the same thing happening again and getting another good man killed. He was hoping that by being so standoffish he would be able to drive Jamal away from him and away from those possibilities. The only men he would allow to put themselves in that kind of position were the ones who had been there when he was injured.

"I see why you went for him, Vic," Aiden commented to his larger boyfriend. He was fascinated by the way Kalen's smiling face just lit up his surroundings.

Having heard that quiet comment, Prowl lightly blushed, but also grinned. That had only been part of the reason Lockdown had started dating him, but he could also see what had attracted his friend to the man he had just met. In fact, he would be interested in the man in front of him except that he never went after someone else's significant other.

"Yeah, part of it. He was my best friend long before we started dating though," Victor said.

"Don't you mean only, Vic?"

"Haha. Very funny."

"I thought so."

Devcon snorted a laugh as he reached for his glass. "Are we ever going to eat, LD? I'm starving here."

"Hold ya horses, Dev. I'm gettin' there. If I didn't have the two best lookin' guys talkin' about me it might've already been on tha table."

Prowl looked at Dev and rolled his eyes. Lockdown was such a flatterer at times, but he was still lovable despite that. Aiden made the same motion back at him. "So, LD was tellin' me that you had a visitor earlier today that he wasn't expecting."

There was an immediate tightening of Prowl's posture that made Devcon almost sad that he had brought the topic up, but he did get an answer. "The precinct has decided that I need a partner and need to be back in a patrol car instead of on a bike and by myself. That was him."

"I thought that it was agreed upon that you wouldn't have a partner before you hired on," Lockdown said as he set the last bowl of food down on the table.

"So did I, but it was never put into writing. I think that was my downfall there."

"Info?"

"All I know is that his name is Jamal, he works mainly in Narcotics, he drives an older model Porsche, and he seems to be interested in me in some way. I'm not sure what way yet though."

Lockdown was quiet for a few minutes, obviously thinking about the information he had accumulated on the employees there at the precinct. Prowl and Devcon took that time to serve themselves and begin eating their meal of grilled chicken and corn plus a fresh tomato salad.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I'm still not exactly sure if I should continue this, but am enjoying the process of writing it. Any comments/reviews/etc are extremely welcome – negative or positive. Thanks for taking the time to read this.


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